Dave Grubnic, driver of the DHL Top Fuel dragster, qualified No. 5 (3.844
seconds, 311.77 mph) advanced to round one
Dave Grubnic and the DHL team upset by teammate in Sonoma opener

SONOMA, Calif., (July 28, 2008) -- Native Australian Dave Grubnic,
driver of the bright yellow DHL Top Fuel dragster, had his dreams of
winning in wine country dashed in the first round of eliminations Sunday
at the FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

Grubnic, the No. 5 qualifier (3.844 seconds, 311.77 mph), rolled to the
starting line Sunday morning to race against his Kalitta Motorsports
teammate and No. 12 qualifier (3.898 seconds, 308.57 mph) Hillary Will,
driver of the KB racing, LLC dragster. After the start of the race,
Grubnic's DHL dart began suffering traction problems on the tricky
drag strip at Infineon Raceway. Will had little or no problems with her
run and sped away to get the win, 5.050 seconds, 144.97 mph to 3.885
seconds, 310.77 mph.

Grubnic will have to wait until the next event in Brainerd, Minn., to vie
for a sesquicentennial milestone. His next elimination-round win will be
the 150th of his 14-year Top Fuel career.

Grubnic is currently in 9th place in POWERade championship points.

Beginning with the 13th event in Denver, the NHRA instituted a new racing
distance for the nitro-fueled classes of Funny Car and Top Fuel dragster
to 1,000 ft., as opposed to the traditional distance of 1,320 ft., or a
quarter of a mile, as a temporary safety solution to help the drivers of
the world's quickest and fastest racing safely bring their cars to a
stop more efficiently. The unprecedented action is in response to the
tragic death of Kalitta Motorsports' Scott Kalitta, who died in a
high-speed Funny Car qualifying accident in Englishtown, N.J., June 21.

Grubnic, unofficially, recorded the quickest 1,000-ft. elapsed time of
the 2008 season, 3.783 sec., in Madison, Ill., in early May.